Eledone cirrhosa

Curled octopus

Eledone cirrhosa is a cephalopod of 50 cm long. Its upper side is red, yellow
or yellow-orange, its underside white. Its body is finely tuberculate. Like other cephalopods, curled octopus
can instantly change its body colour to match with the background colour. The head is oval, small
and narrow. The large mantle spreads between eight long and slender arms. Tentacles have a single row of
sucking discs and their tappering ends are curled when at rest. It feeds on large crustaceans such as
lobsters and edible crabs using its powerful beak to pierce carapace. Common, it lives on rocky bottoms as
well as on sand or mud.Eledone cirrhosa is found between 10 and 150 m deep, but sometimes down to 800 meters, in the
Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel, the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

How to cite this page in publications

Bay-Nouailhat A., September 2008, Description of Eledone cirrhosa, Available on line at http://www.european-marine-life.org/14/eledone-cirrhosa.php, consulted on 19 November 2018.Also consult : Terms of use and copyrights